Stars and Angels Gave the Sign
by SageK
Summary: Prompt: Prompt: Erica/Jack, She knows what he's doing, keeping her occupied during the holidays in Tyler's absence, and it makes her love him a little more because of it


It had been a busy day. Not that it was unusual for Christmas Eve to be packed with activity, this year Erica had fully intended to spend the day (and Christmas itself) curled up on the couch, wearing her comfiest PJ's, watching sappy movies and crying into a tub of Ben & Jerry's.

Hey, it was a perfectly valid choice considering her son had chosen to spend the holiday on the mothership with Anna and Lisa. He didn't even seem to think this was an odd choice, though Lisa had seemed abashed for him.

She was just settling in to watch _The Scarlet and The Black_, an old movie from the 80's starring Gregory Peck as Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty, when there was a knock on her door. With a sigh, Erica kicked her legs free of the fleece blanket and rose, shuffling toward the door.

Peeking through the peep hole, she blinked, wondering what Jack was doing, standing on her doorstep, snowflakes clinging to his hair and the shoulders of his black, wool coat.

"Jack," she said, swinging open the door and waving him in. "Hi. Thought you'd be busy today."

He smiled, stepping into the foyer. "I am…which is why I'm here. I was wondering if you could give me a hand with something."

That was how she wound up spending the day delivering meals with Jack and a group of volunteers from the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Then there was dinner, serving at a soup kitchen and finally midnight mass.

_Lord our God, with the birth of your Son, your __glory__ breaks on the world. Through the night hours of the darkened earth, we your people watch for the coming of your promised Son. As we wait, give us a foretaste of the joy that you __will__ grant us when the fullness of his __glory__ has filled the earth, who lives and reigns with you for ever and ever. Amen_.

She'd sat amongst the faithful at St. Josephine's, watching Jack stand before the church, saying mass. The candles everyone held were beautiful, filling the space with flickering, almost ethereal light. The ritual of it all was comforting, even if it wasn't one she generally took part in.

Erica was fully aware of what Jack had done. He'd kept her busy all day so she wouldn't sit at home, alone and missing her son. It was just that sort of action that made her love him all the more.

Yeah, yeah, she could admit it to herself. She loved Jack. She'd fallen for a priest. Because their lives needed to be that much more complicated.

_HAIL, and blessed be the hour and moment At which the Son of __God__ was born Of a most pure Virgin At a stable at midnight in Bethlehem In the piercing cold At that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee, To hear my __prayers__ and grant my desires. Through __Jesus__Christ__ and His most Blessed Mother_.

Okay, so maybe the feelings were mutual. Jack had looked her way when speaking that particular prayer, a faint blush staining his cheeks.

She felt a matching flush on her own face and, once the mass had ended, she was glad for the chilly night air. After changing out of his vestments and into civilian clothes, Jack joined her, tipping his face up into the falling snow. Between the hour and the weather, the streets were quiet (well, quiet for New York City) and she turned to him. "You working tomorrow?"

"No, Father Travis is saying morning mass," he replied easily, smiling and stuffing his hands into his pockets.

It only seemed right to ask him to have a coffee with her…then she remembered everything was closed as it was 1:30am on Christmas Day.

Which was how they wound up back at her house, sitting on the couch in front of a roaring fire. With him there, it was a lot less depressing than it had been earlier in the day. They'd opted for wine in lieu of the coffee and were feeling pleasantly warm and sleepy.

Erica could feel the heat of Jack's body against her side and allowed herself to lean a bit closer, folding her legs up beneath herself. He seemed to have no objection, the arm he had draped along the back of the couch dropping to wrap around her shoulders.

She couldn't help the way her breath caught and she turned to look at him. His eyes looked very blue at such close range and he smiled softly. For a moment, she almost allowed herself to forget he was a priest. It would be so easy to lean a bit closer, to mold her lips to his, but she couldn't.

Instead she sighed, allowing her chin to fall forward, resting her cheek against his chest. Jack pressed a kiss to her brow and gathered her close. She fisted her hands in the fabric of his sweater and held him just as tight, not wanting to let go but knowing she should.

They fell asleep holding each other and, when she awoke hours later, she found they'd shifted to stretch out on the sofa, lying face to face. Jack's long legs were bent, tangled with hers quite intimately and one of his hands was resting on her butt, the other splayed between her shoulder blades. Her own hands held him, one lying flat against his chest, while the other had wormed its way up the back of his sweater, resting on the long, smooth muscles of his back.

Again, not how she'd planned on starting Christmas Day, but this was way better than ice cream.

Comments, pretty please?


End file.
